Chapter 1
Enveloped in my book, I was distracted by the tickling warmth that trailed down the back of my neck. With a scream that could wake the dead, I lurched from the couch, dropping my book with a hard thud. Quickly turning around, I checked behind me, halfway expecting to see someone standing there laughing at me.
Unsurprisingly, there was no one. I live alone, I’m almost always alone.
Rubbing at my skin with a shudder, I sat back down on the couch, staring out at the room. If it wasn’t someone else who’d touched me, then what was that feeling on my neck? I wasn’t a bug expert, but I doubted there was one that felt like warm, soft fingers. But if not a bug, then what? Even if someone had managed to break into my home, they couldn’t have gotten past me to get to the hallway.
Distracted as I’d been from the sudden scare, I supposed I could have missed it. The room wasn’t very large, so they would have had to have been fast and quiet. It was possible, but unlikely.
Standing back up, I moved to the middle of the room and paused. Trying to hear over the sound of my heartbeat, I listened. For what, I didn’t know. Soft music continued to play merrily, ignoring my attempt. It didn’t matter. There was nothing to hear. The same stillness as always, the same quiet.
With a hard swallow, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
Calling out with a wince from the sound of my voice, “Saerus?”
If someone was here, they already knew where I was. It didn’t matter how loud I was. That didn’t make me feel any better about it, though.
Not long after, I heard the familiar soft clicks of nails as they moved across the wooden tile. The tension in my body didn’t alleviate until I saw the annoyed German Shepherd emerge from the hallway. My body relaxed at the sight of him as I released a relieved sigh.
Putting my hand out at my side, palms facing him, I waited. He huffed loudly before he padded his way over to me. A smile slipped across lips at his lack of appreciation for me waking him up. That didn’t stop him from nudging his head into my hand, expecting to be petted.
Stroking the fur between his ears, I shook my head. “I don’t know what I was thinking. If anyone were here, you’d tell me. No one could get in here without you announcing it. Especially those pesky leaves.”
My heart was starting to slow down when I heard a distinctly male voice from behind me. “His guarding could use some work.”
I didn’t scream much, to my amazement. Instead, I froze with my hand still on Saerus’s head. The last thing I wanted to do was turn around and face whoever was behind me. Especially as I watched Saerus pull his lips back, revealing gums and long sharp canines. Fur raised up along his back into sharp little peaks. The deep rumble of his growls filled the air, adding to the sense of danger I already felt.
Closing my eyes, I tried to convince myself that I could do it. Just one foot, then the other. I did it quickly, spinning around before my fear could override my bravery. What should have been there was a robber. Dressed in all black with a ski mask and a knife ready to plunge into my chest or gun.
But there wasn’t. All I saw was the emptiness of my living room. I know I heard a voice. One with a deep cadence. The kind that I’d imagine hearing in the bedroom. Husky, tantalizing and oh so arousing. I didn’t imagine it. Did I?
Glancing at Saerus, I saw he was glaring at the couch. Right where I’d been reading before. Even if someone wanted to hide, there was nowhere for them to. With the couch nearly up against the wall, there wasn’t enough space.
“What do you see?” I asked Saerus, now more curious than scared. He’d already stopped growling, but he didn’t move from his watchful stance.
Slipping my hand beneath his collar, I made to move towards the sofa. When he didn’t try to pull away but followed along beside me, I straightened my shoulders and got braver. If the dog wasn’t freaking out, surely there was nothing. Despite that, I wanted to check the window. I needed to make sure it was still locked.
Moistening my dry lips, my free hand trembled as I gripped the soft, hunter-green fabric of my curtains. Slowly, too slowly, I drew it back. Through the clear glass there was a car driving aimlessly down the road, lit up by the streetlights. And the tree that sat in my front yard, waving its branches as if in greeting. No running figures. No faces.
Gripping the window, I tried to push it open, and when it wouldn’t budge, I let go. It was locked.
With a glare at Saerus, as if this was somehow his fault, I fixed the curtains. “You are trying to scare the wits out of me. I don’t have very much left. I’d like to keep what I still have.”
He wagged his tail, giving me a doggish grin before he bumped his head into my now limp hand. When I gave him only a half-hearted scratch, he left me to go back to his bed in the other room. How he could go to sleep, I couldn’t wrap my head around. Every creak, every groan of the house, had me jumpy.
What was that voice I heard? I didn’t imagine it. I know I didn’t.
Repressing the urge to grab Saerus and go stay in a hotel for the night, I shifted from foot to foot. Despite how badly I wanted to do that, my bank account balance wouldn’t allow it. I’d worked too damn hard for the little I have. I wouldn’t let myself blow it on a shitty motel because I got scared of nothing.
All of my windows should be locked, but I wanted to check them all. Room to room, I made sure that the latches were properly closed. I welcomed the distraction from the multitude of questions rushing through my head. When I went into the bedroom, Saerus didn’t bother opening his eyes where he lay in his bed.
Quiet so as not to disturb him, I checked the windows and then ventured out towards the kitchen. Once I was finished making sure everything was locked up, I didn’t hesitate to grab a bottle of wine and pop it open. If there was ever a time that called for a drink, now was definitely it. Grabbing my plastic glass, I poured myself a generous amount and took a long sip. The sweetness hit my tongue first, followed by a faint tartness. It wasn’t an expensive bottle, but it was good and would help me fall asleep. Maybe.
Replaying the whole scenario over again in my head as I stood at the counter, my brow creased. I’d checked the whole house. There really was no way anyone could have gotten in. I know what I felt, and I know what I heard. What if someone had managed to get a spare key to my front door, broken in and then installed microphones and a camera in my living room? It seemed insane, and highly unlikely.
Draining my wine, I decided to go look anyway. At least it would help soothe my over-paranoid brain. Putting my now empty cup into the sink, I made my way back to the living room. I ran my hand along the paintings, the ledges, and in between the books on the bookshelf. Not shocking, I didn’t find anything. No hidden cameras, no tiny speakers. The only thing was left was that my mind was playing tricks on me.
Biting down on my lower lip, I noticed my poor book was still discarded on the floor. Shame welled up. The pages were being crushed and creased by the weight of the cover. I should’ve picked it up first. Now it was getting ruined. Such a shame. It was so pretty and perfect. And expensive. Sprayed edges. The cover was decorated with beautiful silver foil. It was my present to myself after my shitty breakup. My ex had stolen from me, but I managed to keep the dog. Saerus was mine, and I’d destroy anyone who tried to take him from me. Scrunching my nose, I hoped I could fix whatever damage the book had received.
“I need to lay off the thrillers.” I mumbled to myself as I leaned down to pick it up. The chill of the room touched my ass as my t-shirt rode up the back of my thighs.
“But I love the way you bite your lip when you are reading.” That dark, humorous, masculine voice sounded so close.
“Fuck!” I straightened and swung my book around as if it was a sword. It flew through the air before it escaped my hands to hit the couch. Fuck. This time though, this time I knew I hadn’t imagined that voice. It was crystal fucking clear. “What the fuck is going on? Who is there?”
Silence. Goosebumps erupted along my skin. My hair stood up as if I’d rubbed it with a balloon. Was the only answer that I was crazy? Had something inside of me snapped, and this was the result?
“You checked all the windows. Everything is locked. No one is here. You are going crazy.” I mumbled to myself. “Yup. Just going crazy.”
First thing in the morning, I would call my doctor. Ask for a brain scan.
“Locks wouldn’t keep me out.” Turning in a big circle, I tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.
Fuck it. Fuck my bank account. That was what credit cards were for. Future me would have to deal with the repercussions because current me didn’t give a shit. I just wanted to get out of the house.
“Saerus!” I called, already on my way to the hallway. I didn’t need to grab much. Some food for Saerus, and his leash. Feeling the breeze on my bare legs, I realized I was just in my underwear. Some pants would be good. I definitely needed to put on pants.
I was shocked when I felt something wrap around my arm and pull me backwards. Instead of landing on the floor on my butt, I fell back against warmth and hardness. A hand gripped, fingers pushed into my muscles making me suck in a breath. I could feel it, but I couldn’t see it. Surely hallucinations didn’t cause indents in your flesh.
“You’re trying to leave? But we haven’t gotten to play yet.” Hot air fanned against my cheek. A heady scent of leather and dragonsblood flooded my nostrils. The smell was dizzying, but incredible. I wanted to bottle it up. “I can make you feel so good.”
My body shuddered with something that wasn’t quite fear. I needed to do something. My muscles refused to listen to me. Move. Run. Fight. Anything! But I was stuck.
None of it seemed possible. People weren’t capable of being invisible. In stories, or movies, sure, but not in real life. Not living in reality. But this was reality, and there were definitely strong hands holding onto me. There was something growing long and hard against my ass. That I refused to acknowledge or even think about.
“Please let me go.” My breath hitched and then hiccuped.
Soft prickling, like an unshaved face, nuzzled at the space between my neck and shoulder. Shivers coursed their way through my body; it felt good. His voice when he spoke was dangerous and seductive. “No. I don’t think I will.”
Saerus. I needed to call Saerus. He would help me. He would protect me.
My mouth was barely open to try when I heard a tsk. Fascinated, I watched a hand appear from nothingness, right before it covered my mouth. That heady smell was stronger. “Don’t do that. He and I have just become friends. Besides, how do you think he would feel watching a demon fuck his mom?”
A demon? That was way beyond what I could comprehend. Demons weren’t real. They were nothing more than stories created by the devout to scare people into being faithful. Into being obedient.
So how did I explain the man- could I even call him a man- behind me? The arm that I could now see wrapped around my belly looked human, but I knew it wasn’t. There was almost a scale-like texture to his skin. A shine that wasn’t natural. Not on a human. Being rational wouldn’t help me here. Not while a very real hand was holding my lips shut and warm fingers were stroking my cheek. A tingle grew where he touched. It turned my breath into soft panting.
Whether this was a hallucination or real, it didn’t matter. I was feeling him. I was feeling what he was doing to me. The best chance I had of making it end was believing it. At least, that’s what I hoped.
For now, I accepted that he was a demon. That these creatures were capable of going invisible to visible in an blink of an eye. Where did that leave me? How did I fight against a being like that?
“I’m going to remove my hand, but before I do, you should know even if you call for Saerus, he can’t do anything. You’ll just force him to watch something he doesn’t want to see.”
My mouth went dry as tension caused my muscles to ache. I’d been so caught up in trying to decide whether I believed in any of this, I hadn’t thought about what he planned on doing with me. Earlier, he had mentioned something about making Saerus watch. What was it he had said? Like a light bulb, I suddenly remembered what he’d said. That Saerus would have to watch a demon fuck his mom. It was almost too insane. Too ludicrous. A demon planning on having sex with me? The possibility of that… that didn’t stop heat from flooding down through my belly to between my legs. A pulse awakened there as if reminded that I was still very much a woman who hadn’t been intimate in too long. Instead of being terrified, I was aroused. Incredibly, insanely aroused.
I was so fucked up in the head. All the books I’d read clearly addled my mind. For all I knew, what he meant by fucking was him killing me.
Immediately, my stomach dropped. One comment about sex and I’d forgotten the very real danger I was in. There was no one to protect me. No one could stop him from killing me. Even if I called Saerus, could my dog even fight a demon? I couldn’t risk putting him in that kind of danger. I’d never forgive myself if I got him killed.
Only half aware of what I was doing, I nodded in understanding. I wouldn’t call Saerus. I would face this, whatever it was, on my own. Cautiously, as if the demon didn’t fully trust me, he removed his hand. Cool, crisp air danced past my lips, filling my lungs. I hadn’t realized how warm his hand was. How sensitive he’d made my skin.
Blinking in a daze, I looked at his hand and noticed his fingernails. Horror filled me as I recognized how sharp they were. Black, shiny and very sharp. Claws. He had claws. Instantly, my vision grew cloudy as my tears welled up. It would be so easy for him to kill with those.
Every image, every way I considered seemed agonizing and gruesome. Ripping apart my body until he got to my insides seemed like a horrible way to die. Then he took them and ran them beneath my chin, forcing me to tilt it up and away.
Whimpers filled the air, and it took me a moment to realize that they were mine. Carefully, slowly, he trailed them down my throat, across my collarbone. He continued down until he found his way to my breast. Air hissed between my teeth as I sucked it in despite how hard I clenched my jaw. If I thought he’d stab into it, I was wrong. Instead, he gently palmed it, giving it a squeeze. Trying to swallow past the lump in my throat took great effort.
All the ways he could kill me rushed through my head. Ripping out my heart. Chewing through my flesh with his teeth. Cracking my skull open, scooping out my eyes. Each version I conjured was worse than the last. My stomach rolled, and I nearly gagged from the nausea. Too many violent movies had created a dark imagination.
“You’re so tense.” He teased, his thumb absentmindedly sliding across my nipple. “Relax, this is going to feel good.”
Relax. Right. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. “Are you going to kill me?”
Regret filled me as soon as the words left my mouth. I didn’t want the answer to that. But I did. I needed to know. Not knowing was driving me insane. Maybe I’d always been insane. Maybe today my insanity had finally caught up with me. All the books I’d read blended together to create this hallucination. Maybe… He felt so warm. So real.
“Kill you?” He asked, shocked. Then he let out a long chuckle, causing me to flinch. He was amused, but I was far from it. “Why would I kill you? I’ve been watching you for a while now, and I’m just dying to have a taste.”
“Of my blood?” I squeaked out.
“Your blood? You are a morbid little thing, aren’t you?” His hand left my breast to go down my stomach, past my hips. I gasped as he slipped beneath my thin panties and a burst of desire erupted from where his finger stroked my clit. “This is what I want to taste.”
I couldn’t help but groan as he caressed me, sending tendrils of arousal up and down my body. My nipples grew hard, my skin pebbled. Despite myself, my eyes closed as I wiggled in exquisite pleasure. It wouldn’t take him much more to get me over the edge if he continued.
“See.” He whispered in my ear, and I began to tremble from need. “Just relax, and let me show you how good I can make you feel.”
Too fast for me to realize what was happening until it was done, he lifted me and deposited me onto my couch. My hips hung off the edge, and he was peeling my panties down my legs. Overheated, I appreciated how my spinning fan cooled my body, helping me refind myself.
“Stop.” I gasped out, but it was pointless. The word had trailed off into a moan when I felt the heat. Bliss crawled its way up my body as warmth pressed against my clit, causing me to arch up. Squirming from how good it felt, he held me down with ease as his tongue lathed against me. Good. Too good. I wanted it to stop, and I wanted it to continue in equal measure. It was as if my need was fire, and he just kept feeding it more and more kindling. Each lick caused me to jerk and chase after his tongue. I should have been pushing him away. I should have been fighting, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, my fingers coiled into his hair, pulling him closer. When was the last time I’d felt this good?
He groaned, and whatever resistance I still had left, snapped. I tossed my head back with abandon as another delicious sensation of his mouth moving against me caused me to scream. I screamed as my body shook and trembled in his hands, beneath his mouth. Whatever the reason it was that I’d wanted to fight him was long gone. Whatever it was couldn’t have been that important. Not nearly as important as the waves that kept crashing over me, through me. I became lost in them. Lost in the joy, the pulsations of ecstasy. Reason was gone. All that was left, all that mattered now, was that I wanted more. I needed more. And he could give it to me.
Hoisting myself up on my elbows as best I could, I saw his dark head of hair from where he was buried between my legs. I still didn’t know what he looked like, but that hardly seemed important. Not while his hair was so silky in my hands, so soft. What would it be like to be wrapped in something so soft? Feel it as it tickled across my skin. My eyes closed as all my concentration dissolved as another cascade of shakes shot through my body. I’d never been so consumed before. So devoured. As if every drop that came from me was all he’d ever want. As if my pleasure was all that mattered. It was divine.
When I was finally able to open my eyes again, I looked back down at him as he pulled away, and I saw him. Molten silver eyes swirled and shifted like pools of mercury. The longer I stared into them, the more lost I became. I could stay gazing into their depths and never come up. He was beautiful and terrifying. My eyes went wide when I noticed his snake-like tongue slide out from between full pink lips to run across my wetness that coated them. What would it be like to kiss him? To feel that tongue dance with mine.
Victoriously, he grinned down at me, revealing sharp teeth. For a brief moment, I became afraid again. I tried to pull back, inch my way out from beneath him, but he shushed me, cupping my cheek. At his touch, I felt all my nervousness fizzle away as if it’d never been.
“It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you.”
I believed him. Against the loud ringing in my head, and the beating of my heart, I believed him.
So when he hoisted my legs up to wrap them around his waist, I didn’t fight. I didn’t fight when he shifted to line himself up with my entrance. And I moaned into his mouth as his lips pressed against mine before he thrust himself inside of me. He stretched me, filled me until it was almost painful, but it felt too good. Too incredible, and I wanted more. I wanted him to take me. Fully. More than anything, I wanted him to consume me until all I knew was him. His scent. His taste. I wanted it all.
“That’s it.” He growled as he rocked his hips slowly and shallow at first but increasingly deeper and harder. “Take all of me.”
“Yes.” I rasped, my hips lifting up to meet his, trying to draw him in further. “Yes, please.”
“No need to beg.” He caressed my cheek, and I leaned into his touch. “I will give you everything you want, and more.”
And he did. Oh, he did. He took me over and over again. Pushed me higher, and higher, into a state of rapture I didn’t know was possible. My body broke apart and came back together again and again until all I knew was what it was like to shatter. Shatter and spiral. Spiral and shatter. Each time made me feel like I was becoming more and more ensnared by him. More and more tangled up in whatever web of ecstasy he’d woven around me. The swirling silver in his eyes was all I could see, whether mine were open or closed.
Only once I’d become limp and unresponsive did he finally lose his rhythm as he found his completion. So animalistic, so primal was his groan as he filled me with heat and desire that all I felt was fulfillment.
We could have stayed like that for minutes or hours; I didn’t know. He ran his fingers through my hair affectionately as I tried to find my way back out of the daze he’d put me into. A demon had fucked me.
“You will be coming with me.” He finally said decisively, as if he’d been contemplating it for a while. “You stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I couldn’t have moved, even if I had wanted to. Every part of me felt like it’d melted away. Twitching my fingers took effort.
He eased out of me, and I whined from the loss. Hushing me, he kissed my forehead before he walked away towards the hallway. I watched him as he moved. Graceful, smooth, predatory. Human, and yet very inhumane. He could have been an angel, for how perfectly he was formed. Distantly, I felt fascination and a hint of horrified awe.
Staring up at the ceiling after he left, I found myself trying to figure out what was going to happen now that he’d had me. What did he mean by I would be going with him? I knew I should care, but found it hard. All I wanted was for him to touch me, to kiss me, to want me. The idea that I had been scared of him felt ridiculous. How could I fear a creature that could bring me such bliss?
It was the familiar click of Saerus’s nails that made me snap out of the daze. Sharply inhaling, I sat up with wide and alarmed eyes. There he was. My boy. Walking beside the demon.
“Don’t.” I croaked, my voice hoarse and nearly gone. Had I been screaming that much? “Don’t hurt him.”
“Hurt him?” The demon looked genuinely confused. With a shake of his head, he said, “We are still stuck on that, huh? If you want me to be scary, we can play with that idea another time. I’m not going to hurt your dog. He’s coming with us unless you want me to leave him behind?”
“No,” I said sharply. Blinking, I swung my legs off the couch and nearly collapsed when I tried to stand. They were so wobbly, so weak. “I… I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”
He grunted as if the words meant nothing to him. “After all of that? You are still rebelling? I’ll have to fix that later.”
Ignoring me, he walked over to one of my walls, tracing a symbol with his finger. A dark wooden door with a silver glow appeared. I gasped, and my chest tightened. I had a feeling that once you go through that door, you don’t come back.
Walking towards me with purpose, I tried to shimmy away. With how weak I still was, I didn’t get far. Grabbing my wrist, he pulled me to him and then swept me up into the air in his arms. Kicking and twisting, I tried to break free.
“No! No! I don’t want to go.” I shouted. All I knew was that I didn’t want to go through that door.
“Easy now.” He chided as if I were a skittish animal. “You’re coming with me. You’re mine now. It’s already been decided. There is no point in throwing a fit. If you continue to behave like this, I’m going to have to cage you when we get there.”
Wherever we were going didn’t sound very good for me. And a cage? I didn’t want to be caged. With clear irritation, he gripped my chin, turned my face to his before pressing his lips against mine. Soothing warmth flooded me, and I sighed as his tongue slid over mine. Calmer, I laid my head against his shoulder. Quietly, still hanging on to some sense. “I don’t want to go.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t always make you feel this way. I rather like it when they fight sometimes, at least to start. You’ll love it. If I’d known what a greedy little thing you were going to be, I would’ve done this sooner.” He chuckled, nuzzling his head against mine. “I was just going to have my fun and then eat you. When my brother told me to go find a pet, I didn’t think I’d actually find one. You are a treat.”
Once more I could feel the ugly tension of fear trying to swell back up. Logical, rational fear that should’ve been present all along. My head spun as he took long, quick strides towards the door that now stood open. I couldn’t see what was beyond.
Looking back at my living room, I saw my book once more discarded on the floor. Forgotten and left behind. I was going to be leaving everything behind. My home. My friends. My family. Tears welled up, and I wanted to struggle again, but I didn’t.
All I could do was stare as the door got closer, and closer. The moment Saerus stepped through the opening, my chest seized. I wanted to scream, to pull him back, but I couldn’t. Instead, I closed my eyes and pressed my face against the demon’s shoulder, unable to watch. It was a small comfort to know Saerus was going with me, but even bigger than that was my fear of what would happen to him beyond the door. What would happen to me? And then we were through. I saw a flash of silver, and then, nothing.
